Article: Mets' Wright looking to next season

Posted on 14 Oct 2008 by Danielle

Losing a playoff berth on the final day of the season for the second straight year doesn't sit well with David Wright.

The "bitter taste" of failure, as he described it, is why he's already begun his offseason workout regimen and has watched only about five innings of postseason baseball.

"It's going to be a long offseason, no doubt," Wright said. "But when you fail, it pushes you and motivates you to work that much harder to make sure the same thing doesn't happen next year. You try to better yourself as much as possible."

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It's coming...

Posted on 07 Oct 2008 by Danielle

Save the date, everyone!

The Do the Wright Thing Gala has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 12th. The benefit will last from 6-11 pm and will take place at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square.

This year's scheduled performer is American Idol winner, David Cook.

Unlike last year, children eight and older will be allowed at the benefit with paid admission.

Tickets are not on-sale at this time, nor has a ticket price been announced.

Stay tuned!

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The end has arrived.

Posted on 29 Sep 2008 by Danielle

I know that I don't have to recap what happened. You all watched and you all lived and died with this team, just as I did this year.

As soon as Ryan Church's fly ball was caught, my heart felt as though it were a balloon someone had just let all of the air out of. I was deflated. I was disappointed. I was a whole bunch of other 'd' words that I've yet to realize.

But, as I discussed with a good friend of mine and many relatives, this end was better than we could have ever hoped for back in May and early June, a time when all Mets fans were just hoping to finish above the Nationals and one other team.

Did I want to win the NL East? Absolutely. Did I want to force a playoff with the Brewers? Heck yes.

But most of all I wanted this team to finish out the year in a respectable manner and the New York Mets did just that.

I was at the game that Santana pitched on Saturday and I was with my mother, who had been present at Game 6 back in 1986. Even she admitted that while the game did not top Game 6, as it should not have, it was up there.

As a college student, it doesn't take a lot of guessing to realize that I was not born yet when the Mets last won a World Series, so my main memories of the game revolve around Mike Piazza's arrival to the New York Mets. I was at Game 4 of the NLCS in 1999, I was at the doubleheader that Robin Ventura hit a grand slam in each of the games, and I was at many more memorable moments at Shea. Perhaps, my favorite of all, was this last game I ever attended at Shea, the last win ever at Shea Stadium.

And watching the final arrival at Shea of everyone I remembered from most of my childhood, including my favorite boys: Piazza, Ventura, and Fonzie, I couldn't help but think that this was a fitting end for Shea. If the Mets had won, I wouldn't have watched Piazza and Seaver close the centerfield wall with tears in my eyes, the finality of it all sinking in. Maybe, the Mets' year ended the way that it should have. Maybe, just maybe, Shea really got the send off she deserved.

Part of me feels as though I would have loved to see the Mets extend the final game at Shea into the world series, while the overwhelming majority of my heart knows that even if they got into the playoffs, with a bullpen like ours, we could never have won it.

Perhaps it is time for the Rays to finally turn the tables on all of the reporters who made the team the joke of the day in their columns. Or maybe it's time for the Cubs to follow in the footsteps of the Boston Red Sox and reverse their outstanding curse.

I'm not really sure. All I can tell you is that I can take solace in the fact that this season is nowhere near as storied as 2006. After watching Beltran look at strike three in Game 7 against the Cardinals, I felt as though I'd been punched in the stomach. The story was over... and it did not have the ending it deserved. I was still waiting for Cliff Floyd to hobble to the plate and hit the game-winning home run to send the Mets to the World Series. I can still remember yelling at my friend on the phone for jinxing the game by saying they'd definitely make a comeback. I remember the bitter taste I had in my mouth that I had for all of 2007, every time that I watched Carlos Beltran step to the plate.

Yet, in my heart and in my soul, I know that 2008 was not our year to win.

Still, my heart goes out to the members of the New York Mets roster. Just because I'm not nearly as disappointed as I thought I'd be doesn't mean that they're heads aren't hanging as they walk down the street.

Everyone looked horribly upset... Reyes, Delgado, Beltran. They all looked like they just wanted one more chance at bat to change everything. And Santana would have pitched today if he could have.

The story that Ron Darling relayed long after those boys had gone home, of how the 1986 team rallied around Howard Johnson in the clubhouse to console him, truly touched me in a way I never thought it would.

I hope that someone can help David Wright get over this final game of the season. I know that when the team loses, he loses sleep over it. I know that sometimes, he takes it harder than anyone else on that field does because while most players leave the game on the field, he takes it with him. Call it a weakness, call it a bad decision, call it whatever you want, but David is a prime example of a guy that just eats, breathes, sleeps, and loves the game of baseball.

Watching him speak to reporters after the game, unable to look into the lens of the cameras as his eyes grew red and watered with tears, my heart truly broke. I know that the wait until March is a very long one and I know that until around January, when you have to start thinking about Spring Training, you're going to wake up every morning, hoping, that by some miracle, you've traveled back in time to relive your last at-bat one more time.

But it is time to move on... from 2007, from 2008, and from Shea Stadium. You've given the members of the Shea Faithful some hope for the future, along with franchise players like Reyes and Santana, and hopefully Murphy, Evans, and some of the other younger guys out there.

As the Mike Piazza era came to a close in the last few years of his contract, a wonderful thing happened in 2004... hope happened. And it happened in David Wright, a player whom New York Mets fans everywhere would come to adopt as Flushing's own son, a young man we are proud to watch grow up and mature like he was our own.

So with the closing of Shea Stadium, we say goodbye to memories of the '69 and '86 Mets, black cats, the stars of men, like Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza, that may have dimmed, but never faded, bloop singles, passed balls, grand singles, catches that will forever live in infamy, the miracle up the first base line, and the magic they lent to us all, and look forward to the moments stored in baselines, foul poles, and outfield walls that CitiField is just waiting to offer.

So long, Shea Stadium... and thanks for the memories.

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Wright Watch: David's Backhanded Stop

Posted on 28 Sep 2008 by Danielle

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9/28 - What Wright Said...

Posted on 28 Sep 2008 by Danielle

(On scoring more runs)

"I'd like to score 10 runs, too," David Wright (2-for-3 with a walk) said. "It's no secret. It's much easier to win with 10 runs than with two runs."

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Santana saves the season with three-hit shutout!

Posted on 28 Sep 2008 by Danielle

Desperate to stay in the playoff race, the New York Mets brought back their ace early and he delivered, pitching a three-hitter that led them over the Florida Marlins 2-0 on a rainy Saturday.

Nearly two hours later, the Mets pulled into a tie with Milwaukee for the NL wild card when the Brewers lost 7-3 to the Chicago Cubs.

With the crowd standing and chanting his name, Santana (16-7) assured the Mets will play at least one more meaningful game at Shea Stadium. The win was just the third in eight games for New York and put aside - for a day, anyway - thoughts of another huge collapse.

Now, it's up to Oliver Perez to try to help save the Mets' season Sunday. No chance of seeing Santana in that one.

If the Mets and Brewers remain even after Sunday, they would play a one-game tiebreaker Monday in New York. Milwaukee is scheduled to send ace CC Sabathia to the mound Sunday against the Cubs.

Well before the first pitch, Manuel was asked whether his postgame plans involved sticking around the clubhouse to watch his rivals on TV.

"If ..." he started, quickly amending to, "when we win, I'll just get dressed and go home."

As the Mets left their locker room, one TV was tuned to Brewers-Cubs and the other showed college football. The wild card was more easily in reach, but the Mets hadn't given up hope of catching Philadelphia and forcing a division tiebreaker at Citizens Bank Park.

No such luck for New York.

Only once before had Santana pitched on three days' rest, and that was in the 2004 AL playoffs. He needed a career-high 125 pitches in his last outing, and he threw 117 in keeping the Mets' shaky relievers in the bullpen.

The NL ERA leader improved to 9-0 in 17 starts since late June, striking out nine and walking three in his sixth career shutout.

Santana had asked Manuel to pitch this game, and everyone at Shea knew what was at stake. After last year's monumental fold, a loss here might've doomed the Mets to a similar fate.

Manuel's revamped lineup produced a run in the first inning, and that turned out to be all Santana required.

Acquired in an offseason trade with Minnesota to win big games, Santana became the first Mets pitcher to throw a shutout on three days' rest since Dwight Gooden in 1987.

Manuel would later admit that, even if he had wanted to take Santana out of the game in the ninth, he wouldn't have let him.

The Marlins left the bases loaded in the fifth and threatened again in the ninth, but Cody Ross flied out to the warning track in left with a runner on to end it. Santana received hearty congratulations on the mound, and waved his cap to the crowd as he walked off.

The win meant Perez gets his chance to pitch on three days' rest Sunday. The last time he did it, the Mets lefty tossed a real gem - six sharp innings in Game 7 of the 2006 NL championship series against St. Louis.

Now, there's a chance that Sunday's farewell-to-Shea ceremony with Willie Mays and other former Mets won't necessarily be a somber one.

Carlos Delgado, batting third for the first time this season, hit a sacrifice fly in the first. The inning included a single by David Wright, hitting cleanup for the first time this year.

Ramon Martinez, a late-season bonus for the Mets, hit an RBI double in the fourth.

Marlins rookies were also going to dress up, courtesy for the Florida veterans. As part of a prank, the young players were being made to wear brightly colored outfits festooned with oversized bananas and limes for a night out to Times Square.

It was a fruitful day for the Mets, too, thanks to Santana. And it left them looking ahead.

Perhaps Pedro Martinez said it best as he left the field, "Manaña!"

Notable performances:

By far, the player of the game was Johan Santana... the Shea-vior. He hurled nine scoreless innings and only gave up three hits. Santana struck out nine along the way, lowering his ERA to 2.53.

Jose Reyes was 1-4 with a single.

Carlos Beltran was 2-4 in yesterday's game, with two singles.

Ramon Martinez was 1-3 with a single.

David Wright was 2-3 in yesterday's game, with a walk.

Wright's average jumped to .304 after the game. If he can get at least one hit in the last regular season game of the year, he solidifies another .300+ season.

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Beltran is hero of the night as the Mets beat the Cubs 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth.

Posted on 25 Sep 2008 by Danielle

The New York Mets haven't exactly been the comeback-kids in the late innings year.

But tonight... Carlos Beltran changed that with one swing of the bat.

Rich Harden pitched six solid innings in his final playoff tuneup for the NL Central champions and lightly used rookie Micah Hoffpauir went 5-for-5 with five RBIs and his first two major league homers — including a tiebreaking shot in the seventh off Ricardo Rincon that gave Chicago a 6-3 lead.

Pitching what could be his final game for the Mets, Pedro Martinez left to a warm ovation with the score tied 3-all in the seventh. He pointed to the crowd and raised his first in the air.

After he was gone, New York tied it in the eighth on big hits by a pair of unlikely players: spare part Ramon Martinez and third-string catcher Robinson Cancel.

Cancel doubled leading off the seventh and scored on a Jose Reyes grounder. Then, with two outs and none on in the eighth, New York hit four straight singles to tie it.

Ramon Martinez, making his first start for the Mets after a helpful performance off the bench Wednesday, cut it to 6-5 with a single. Cancel, added to the lineup because of Brian Schneider's aching back, lined a 1-2 pitch to right off Bob Howry.

Kosuke Fukudome's strong throw home was up the line but it arrived ahead of Ryan Church, who danced around catcher Koyie Hill on the wet dirt. With both players struggling to maintain their footing, Church slipped to the ground, then made a desperate lunge and touched the plate with his hand for the tying run.

Hill threw his arms up in disbelief and the crowd responded with a thunderous roar. Shea Stadium shook as fans jumped up and down.

Jose Reyes singled off Kevin Hart (2-2) to start the ninth and swiped second for his third steal of the game as David Wright fanned for the second out. Carlos Delgado was intentionally walked and Beltran lined a 2-0 pitch off the glove of a diving Hoffpauir at first base.

The ball trickled down the right-field line as Reyes scored easily, giving the Mets their second victory in six games since they grabbed the division lead with a victory last Friday at Atlanta.

Beltran was mobbed by soaked teammates near first base, a sigh of relief — for one night, at least — as New York tries to cement an extended schedule in October.

Amazin' Performances:

Both Jose Reyes and Ramon Martinez were 1-4 in tonight's game. Reyes scored twice and singled, stealing three bases to bring his season total to 55.

Carlos Beltran was 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI on two singles. He also stole base number 25 on the year.

Ryan Church had a great game, going 3-3 with a run scored and two RBI's on his double and two singles. His incredible evasion of a tag at home tied it up for the Mets.

David Wright was 1-2 tonight, with an RBI on a sac fly. He scored once while walking twice.

Wright's average remains at .300.

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Mets blow Wild Card lead on blown game to Cubs, 9-6.

Posted on 25 Sep 2008 by Danielle

First, the New York Mets failed to hold a four-run lead. Then they missed plenty of chances. Finally, they lost their grip on the lead in the National League wild card race.
Derrek Lee doubled home the go-ahead run and Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning as the Chicago Cubs dealt the Mets' playoff hopes a painful blow with a 9-6 victory.

It's a really crappy day to be a Mets fan, folks.

The Mets fell into a tie with Milwaukee in the wild card race after the Brewers defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier Wednesday night. The loss also kept the Mets 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies (89-70) in the National League East race.

The Phillies lost to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Carlos Delgado hit his second grand slam of the season and 13th career in the third, but the Mets wasted a leadoff triple in the ninth by Daniel Murphy after failing to score in the seventh despite having runners on the corners with none out.

New York also had runners on first and third with none out in the seventh against Kevin Hart and failed to score. Murphy lined into a double play at first base and Wright flied out.

The Mets tied the game at 6-6 in the eighth with a run off Jeff Samardzija. Delgado doubled, went to third on a single by Carlos Beltran and later scored on a bases-loaded walk to Ramon Martinez.

After Murphy's triple in the ninth, Howry struck out David Wright and issued a pair of intentional walks to load the bases before getting Ryan Church to ground into a forceout. He then struck out pinch hitter Ramon Castro to end the threat.

Ryan Theriot singled with two outs off Luis Ayala - the Mets' sixth pitcher - and stole second base before Lee blooped a double to right field for a 7-6 lead. Ramirez followed with a two-run blast to left field, causing the Shea Stadium faithful to head for the doors.

Bobby Howry worked out of a jam in the ninth and Kerry Wood pitched a perfect 10th for his 34th save in 40 chances.

For TWS, there are no notable performances today... although, Carlos Delgado does get a golden star for his grand slam.

David Wright was 1-4 in last night's game, his average now stalled at .300.

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Jose hits the big 2-0-0... and Santana reaches ten in Mets 6-2 win over Cubs.

Posted on 23 Sep 2008 by Danielle

Jose Reyes had a three-run triple to cap a four-run sixth inning while Johan Santana pitched eight strong innings to give the Mets a much-needed win, 6-2 win over the NL Central champion Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium. And did we mention that triple was his 200th hit of the season?

Or how about the fact that Philadelphia lost Tuesday night at home, 3-2, against the Braves?

Oops. Must have slipped our minds.

The Mets snapped a three-game skid and also pulled 1 1/2 games ahead of the Brewers in the NL wild card standings. Milwaukee is currently hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates,

Santana (15-7) got the win on a career-high 125 pitches, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks, with 10 strikeouts. He's 8-0 over his last 16 starts. Luis Ayala got the last two outs for his ninth save of the season.

Chicago's Sean Marshall allowed two runs on four hits and a pair of walks in five innings, while striking out seven. Chad Gaudin (4-2) took the loss after letting up four runs in just one-third of an inning.

Reed Johnson and Kosuke Fukudome each had two hits with an RBI for the Cubs, who have already locked up home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs.

The Cubs struck first in the second. With one out, Casey McGehee and Fukudome hit back-to-back doubles off Santana.

Chicago pulled ahead 2-0 in the third. Ronny Cedeno hit a one-out double, and two batters later he scored on Johnson's single to center.

New York came back in the fifth to tie the score. Nick Evans reached with one out when he was hit by a pitch. Santana hit a grounder that bounced off his broken bat, allowing him to reach with an infield single. One out later, Luis Castillo walked to load the bases for Wright, who singled home two runs with a liner to left field.

The Mets took the lead for good in the sixth off Gaudin. Carlos Delgado hit a fly ball that landed just inside the left field line for a lead-off double, and Ramon Castro followed with a dribbler to Gaudin, which he threw wide of first, allowing Delgado to score.

Ryan Church>/b> followed with a single through the infield to advance Castro to second. Pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy loaded the bases with nobody out after another ground single. One out later Kevin Hart was brought in to face Reyes, who cleared the bases with a triple to right, giving the Mets a 6-2 cushion.

Notable performances in tonight's WIN came from...

Jose Reyes, who became the second Met to ever smack 200 hits in a single season, had a 2-4 effort tonight, which consisted of a single and a triple. He knocked in three RBIs and also walked once. His average is up to .300.

Carlos Delgado was 1-3 with a double and a run scored.

Both Ramon Castro and Ryan Church were 1-4 on the evening.

Daniel Murphy... who apparently, now goes by the moniker of D-Rex in some blogs, but will always be Binghamton Boy No. 1 on TWS... was 1-1 in his pinch hitting appearance, scoring on Reyes's triple.

Even Johan Santana was productive at the plate, going 1-3 with two runs scored on a broken bat single and an error.

David Wright got himself up to the .300 mark for the second time this month, and this year, going 2-4 with his 121st and 122nd RBI on the year. He hit two singles and walked once.

Mets drop first game to Cubs, 9-5, as Niese implodes.

Posted on 23 Sep 2008 by Danielle

Jason Marquis helped Chicago clinch the best record in the National League with a solid pitching effort and five RBI, including his first career grand slam, as the Cubs topped the wild card- leading New York Mets, 9-5 in the first of four games at Shea Stadium.

Niese retired five straight hitters to begin the game, but a double by Mark DeRosa into the left-field gap followed by Johnson's single up the middle put New York in a 1-0 hole.

The Mets got the run back in the bottom half when Marquis uncorked a wild pitch with two outs and runners on the corners, scoring Carlos Delgado, and the home team took their first lead an inning later on back-to-back doubles by Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy.

Marquis added an RBI groundout to his unlikely grand slam, while allowing four runs on eight hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings on the mound.

Derrek Lee also homered for the Cubs, who wrapped up the NL Central over the weekend and now have home field advantage leading up to the World Series. Ryan Theriot was 3-for-3 with a pair of walks in the victory.

The Mets, meanwhile, trail the Phillies in the NL East by 2 1/2 games after Philadelphia topped Atlanta, 6-2, on Monday. New York still leads Milwaukee by a game in the wild card race with six games left to play for both clubs.

Jonathon Niese had a forgettable third start to his career, getting torched for six runs on seven hits in three-plus innings of work for New York, which has dropped three straight after a three-game winning streak.

David Wright clubbed a two-run homer for the Mets, who went just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 men on base.

The Cubs trailed by a run before batting around in their six-run fourth. With runners on the corners, Reed Johnson singled home his second run of the game, and Theriot followed with a base hit to load the bases.

The left-handed Niese then hung a curveball to his counterpart, and Marquis sent the mistake over the right field wall, ending the rookie's outing and giving the Cubs a 6-2 lead.

Nelson Figueroa came in to pitch and got two outs before Lee continued the onslaught with his 20th homer of the year later in the frame, and Marquis chipped in a run-scoring fielder's choice off Bobby Parnell an inning later.

New York put its first two hitters on base in the fourth and sixth innings but came away empty-handed.

Wright cut the deficit to 8-4 with a two-out, two-run homer that narrowly cleared the left field wall in the seventh, but Ryan Church later flew out with two runners on and two outs to end the comeback threat.

Felix Pie legged out a two-out infield single in the away ninth to knock in Aramis Ramirez for a commanding 9-4 Chicago lead.

Carlos Marmol allowed an RBI groundout from Carlos Beltran in bottom half to account for the Mets' final tally, and Kerry Wood was called in from the bullpen to record the final out with two runners on to record his 33rd save of the season.

Notable performances in the loss:

Jose Reyes is now teetering again at the .300 mark, after going 2-5 with two hits on a single and double, as well as two runs scored on Daniel Murphy's double and David Wright's home run. His average is .299.

Carlos Delgado was 2-3 tonight with two walks, both were singles. Carlos was plated once in the game.

Carlos Beltran was 2-5 in tonight's game with with an RBI and two singles.

Ryan Church broke out of his slump tonight, going 2-3 with two walks and two singles.

David Wright was 2-4 in the game with a single and a two-run home run to left. He knocked in two RBI's, for his 119th and 120th of the year, AND scored twice.

David's average spiked to .299.

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